After a long search, the male leads in the upcoming movie adaptation of The Hunger Games have been cast.

Lionsgate has officially announced that Josh Hutcherson, star of Zathura, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and The Kids Are All Right, will star in the movie as Peeta Mellark.

He accompanies the female lead, Katniss Everdeen (who has already been cast with Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence), to the Hunger Games, an annual event where a teenage boy and girl from each of twelve districts is forced to compete in fights to the death on live TV.

Also cast in the role of Gale Hawthorne is Liam Hemsworth, younger brother to the new Thor, Chris Hemsworth, who has starred in movies like The Last Song and Knowing.

The Hunger Games will be directed by Gary Ross, and is set to hit theaters on March 23, 2012.